Proprioception training

Seattle, 2.

Heat wave is off; kid adventures are planned (sculpture garden by waterside, including giant sweet Oldenburg piece), and I’m going to try to drag J to the art museum, which is, as she puts it, “all modern (sigh)”. Yeah, but modern art ROCKS ASS, so that gets my vote. This is what happens when you pair a film student/Dada guy with a medievalist who likes Walden.

Climbers know all about proprioception; it’s your self-awareness in space. Proprioception is Jedi stuff; you know where you are without needing to see what you’re doing; it’s sort of extra-ocular spatial orientation.

I got the “do tree pose, let your gaze wander, then shut your eyes and hold it” intro, and then UHP, where the gaze movement is there precisely to “make the pose harder” (i.e., to train yogis to get out of their eyes in balance poses).

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I came here to get backbends (because I have gone EVERYWHERE to get backbends since 2008) and I’m not going to get them. TL said, “it’s a continuum; some people lift their heels, some have short Achilles, some are very flexible, some turn their feet, it’s a wonder that this part of yoga practice is so heavily policed.” And that was that.

But I am going to come out of here with handstands.

Yesterday alone–and the handstands were the best part of a very VERY sore practice which was totally unremarkable in all other respects–it was handstands at the wall, on a short riser (maybe 8 inches high) and then on a higher one (maybe 20 inches?) and then (you gotta be KIDDING ME) on an even higher one, about 3 full feet. Here, try this. Put your hands three feet high, and then jump into a handstand. No, seriously.

AND THEN

The freakin RAMP handstand, hands downward facing, 45 degrees!!! I said, “Man, this is some Luke Skywalker stuff.” He said, “Totally. Use the force!”

Now, being able to make geeky Star Wars references with your teacher is a total sale.

I said, “Is this going to be a regular thing?” He said, “Yeah, everyone gets a bit of this, but since you’re here for a short time, it’s gonna be an onslaught.” I said, “Cool.”

My yoga homework for this weekend is to handstand wherever it looks safe. Just pop into it at random in public. Hell yeah, of course I’m down for that, I’m an extrovert, let’s remember. J is totally unthrilled with this.

So the height of my practice here is directly post-Mari-D. That’s where the festival occurs. Then the rest of it is just “you do” until however much or little Intermediate I want (up to Ardha Matsyendrasana).

Gotta go be a parent now. More later!